Heroes of Darkness
by RogueJyn24
Summary: Eighteen years after the destruction of the First Order, Rey and Kylo Ren have brought forth a new generation of Skywalkers. But the legacy of the dark side hangs over them as they attempt to follow in their parents' footsteps and with unrest looming over the galaxy, the force is ready, once again, to choose an agent of darkness to balance the scales of good and evil
1. Chapter 1

It was that dream.

The same dream he'd had last night and the night before and the night before that.

He lived in that dream.

He was in a snow covered forest, the cold was crisp and biting but the air was still, the tall trees encircling him, unmoving. The stars above him in the night sky, twinkled down at him.

Whispers surrounded him

 _"There has been an awakening"_

He shivered.

 _"Have you felt it?"_

Then, a flash of light broke through the darkness. He walked forward to get a closer look, but the more he moved, the farther away the light seemed. So he stopped and strained his eyes and this time he saw something he hadn't seen before.

There were two people, the dark outlines of their figures prominent against the midnight blue of the sky. They faced each other, the light spitting and pulsating between them, illuminating the snow around them. But he couldn't see their faces.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him trembled and he stumbled backward, grabbing on to a low hanging branch. The light disappeared along with the two figures and the forest had once again fallen into darkness, but the earth continued to shake violently and cracks began to form underneath his feet. Then, the ground split open revealing a fiery, molten core and then he was falling, falling into the sweltering, blinding depths.

Then, darkness enveloped him again and someone was calling his name, but he couldn't answer, he couldn't even move.

He was restrained

And in the shadows, something was lying in wait, crouching on the hard, cold floor, waiting, waiting to pounce on him.

"Sayer?"

He tried to move again, but he couldn't

"Sayer, wake up!" A voice called

He was jolted awake. Sweat was dripping down his neck, his back and his clothes were sticking to him. A woman gripped his shoulders, her brown eyes alarmed and fearful, and her chestnut hair wild around her pale face.

"Wake up darling, we have to go now!"

Sayer raised himself on his elbows

"What's going on mom?"

He watched as his mother wiped beads of sweat from her forehead with quivering hands.

"Get changed" She said, as she raised herself from where she was perched on his bed, a sense of urgency in her voice "We're leaving Takodana"

* * *

As the Millenium falcon made the jump into hypersapce, Sayer turned to watch his mother who had relaxed into the pilot's seat, distracted.

He waved a hand in front of her face

"Mom?"

She turned to face the boy in the co-pilot seat. The big dark eyes that looked back at her were questioning, concerned but also familiar and reassuring.

"What's going on mom, where are we going?"

She sighed.

"I'll tell you when we get there" she reached out and stroked the boy's hair

The silence that followed between them was soon broken by the sound of the buzzing intercom.

 _"Can you hear me? Is anyone there?!"_

"Grandma!" Sayer cried, leaping forward "How are you getting us in hyperspace?"

 _"I got another transmission"_ The voice said

"Is it them?" The woman asked, fear and excitement evident in her voice "are they alright?"

"Mom, you heard from dad and Zander?" Sayer asked, looking at his mother, his eyes wide

 _"I don't know, I honestly don't know what it is..."_ the voice on the intercom faltered

The woman straightened

"General, can you give me their location?"

 _"No, you can't go out there alone!"_

"General, that's my husband and child out there!"

 _Is Sayer with you?"_

"Yes"

 _"You can't take him with you, it's too dangerous!"_

The woman breathed in deeply. She would do anything to keep her family intact.

"If we die at least we'll all die together" She remarked

 _"You're forgetting, I've got Kaia"_

"Take care of her for me general" The woman responded

Sayer watched his mother, heart pounding. Her eyes had filled with tears and her lips were quivering. Something bad had happened to his father and brother. He hadn't seen them in months and his mother wouldn't tell them where they had gone or what they were doing. He had begged to go with them, but to no avail. Their father never stayed in one place, he was constantly moving from planet to planet and they could meet him only in secret. Sayer wondered if he was hiding from someone.

 _"Alright, I'll transmit the location to you"_ The voice on the intercom finally gave in _"But please bring my grandchildren back safely!"_

"Don't worry grandma, mom can handle anything!" Sayer shouted into the intercom, excited at the prospect of adventure and fearful at the thought of what he might find when adventure came to him.

A bleep on the monitor in front of them told them that the general had sent the coordinates and they gazed at them longingly.

"Where are they mom?"

The woman swallowed

"They're on Jakku" She said quietly, a frown creasing her brows

"Jakku? Why would they go there?"

"We'll see" she said simply "Hold on"

* * *

As their ship broke through the planet's atmosphere, the woman leaned in to get a closer look.

Jakku looked just as she had remembered it those many years ago, and it was hard for her to forget. Her son looked on with her, although there was nothing to see but sand stretching out for miles in front of them.

"So how do we know where dad and Zander are?"

His mother glanced back at the monitor

"Your grandmother got a transmission from their ship and if we keep going north we just might spot it"

Sayer craned his neck

"Maybe we should fly lower" he suggested

They flew for what felt like hours to Sayer, and then he spotted it. Smoke was rising from behind a sand dune.

"There!" he cried and his heart sank as his mother flew over it and they both looked down to see the wreckage of a ship.

"It crashed?"

"But they must be alive" His mother's voice was hopeful "they sent that transmission"

She lowered the ship and as soon as they'd landed, jumped out of their seats and ran out into the heat of the Jakku air. Coming out of the dark interior of the ship, they had to shield their eyes from the blinding sunlight.

They stopped dead in their tracks

Sayer grabbed his mother's arm

"Scavengers" She breathed

There were about five or six of them, stripping the ship of metals and devices as they watched.

Signalling for her son to stay behind, she walked forward, unhooking something from the belt on her hip. She held it out in her hand and ignited it. It was a lightsaber, double edged with pure white blades that seemed almost translucent in the sunlight.

The scavengers, noticing them, walked forward. They all wore thick robes and heavy looking head gear that hid their faces.

"We were here first" One of them said

The others all flanked him, their weapons ready, preparing for an attack

"I'm not interested in the ship" Sayer's mother called "I only want to know If there was anyone inside when you got here"

"It was empty" another scavenger spoke, a woman this time "There was no one here when we arrived. Nothing, no blood, no bodies"

Sayer breathed a sigh of relief, but his mother wasn't satisfied

"I want to see for myself if you don't mind"

The wind was blowing hard around them, and Sayer could hardly hear his mother over the sound of sand blowing in the wind, hitting the side of the Falcon. He squinted to get a better look at the scavengers.

They had raised their weapons and were pointing it at his mother.

"This is our ship now!"

Sayers mother lifted her lightsaber above her head and twirled it, her face furious.

The scavengers stepped back collectively

"You know, we can avoid a whole lot of pain and trouble if you just let me take a look inside. I won't take anything, I'm not interested in parts"

They looked at each other

"Who are you?"

Sayer watched as his mother's back straightened and she shouted over the sound of the howling wind.

"My name is Rey, I am a Jedi Knight" She continued

The scavengers looked at each other again

"And what business would a Jedi have on Jakku?!" One scavenger cried

"I'm looking for my husband and my son" Rey answered "This is their ship. It looks like they crash landed here and I just want to find them"

"You won't find them" the female scavenger spoke "It looks like they got out, but you won't find a trail in this weather"

"There must be something on that ship that can tell me why they came to Jakku or where they might have gone if you just let me take a look"

The female scavenger raised a hand

"Alright, five minutes"

Sayer made to follow his mother, but she put a hand on his shoulder

"No, I need you to stay with the ship"

He nodded reluctantly and watched his mother as she disappeared into the wreckage. When she came back out, she shook her head at him, lips pursed. Sayer turned to walk back up the ramp to the Falcon, disappointed.

"Wait!"

Sayer and Rey stopped in their tracks

The female scavenger was now walking slowly towards them

"If you need help finding your husband and child, perhaps we can help"

Rey raised her eyebrows

"We can take you to our dealer"

Rey was sceptical. She didn't trust junk dealers, but this was probably the only hope she had left of tracking down Ben and Zander. She hesitated, weighing her options.

"Alright" She finally said "Take us to him"

The female scavenger relaxed "You can follow us on your ship" she said, before turning to return to her group

* * *

As Sayer took his seat at the cockpit, he suddenly realized something.

"Hey mom, didn't you grow up here?" he asked his mother

Her sons question sparked something in Rey, and she could not help but relive the memories of her hardships on Jakku. After everything she had been through in the past eighteen years, the fifteen years she spent on Jakku seemed like a forgotten nightmare. Fifteen years, her whole childhood had been spent on this desolate hellhole.

"I did" She answered softly

Sayer crinkled his nose "How did you manage with all these pesky scavengers? "

Rey smiled sadly

"oh, I managed"


	2. Chapter 2

Rey and Sayer stepped into the 'lair'. That was apparently what its owner liked to call it.

The scavengers had led them towards a cave in a massive rock face, which branched into several chambers where the junk dealer and his scavengers lived. The inside was cool and provided shade from the discomfort of the burning Jakku sun. Rey thought about the times as a child she had spent evenings sheltering from the sunlight in her old AT-AT, but the inside would sometimes be just as hot as the outside.

The dealer was human, and so unlike her old junk dealer in looks. He seemed young, well groomed, and sunburned like the scavengers but an air of greed surrounded him and as he approached Rey and Sayer to invite them into his 'office', she couldn't help but think that perhaps all junk dealers were the same. But she was startled out of her thoughts as she entered the stony room.

"Not bad"

Rey 's narrowed eyes wandered around the well furnished room "I didn't think junk dealing could be such a lucrative business"

Altair Bono smiled broadly and Sayer counted three gold teeth

"You'd be surprised" He said, waving his hand "If you're smart and know the right people, the sky is the limit. Anyway, I don't think of it as 'junk dealing'"

Rey sniffed

"You know something about scavenging?" Altair questioned

Rey blinked hard

"Oh yes" She said grimly "I used to scavenge for a living as a child, near Niima outpost. Unkar Plutt was my dealer"

Sayer looked at his mother in surprise and Altair snorted

"That fat bastard?"

Sayer had to stifle a giggle

"I used to scavenge myself you know, it wasn't easy being constantly on the edge of starvation, that's why my scavengers are well compensated for their work"

"That's good to know…" Rey muttered

As Sayer looked from his mother to Altair, his eyes fell on a box of devices stuffed into a corner

"Mom look, there's grade A equipment here!"

Rey raised her eyebrows

"Where did you get those?" she asked "It's quite rare to come across class 1 equipment while scavenging"

"You'd be surprised" Altair repeated, and this time, beads of sweat were beginning to form on his brow

Sayer looked at his mother. He knew as well as her that Altair was dealing in stolen parts, but that wasn't really what they were here for.

His mother however, persisted

"Who do you trade with?" she asked in a firm voice

Altair smiled

"Oh, I have contacts"

"Who? Do you have a license for this?"

The smile faded from Altair's sweaty face

"Now, from one scavenger to another, we're all just trying to get by here, ok?

Rey shook her head

"Now now" Altair leered "Is that the way to treat a person you plan to ask a favour from?"

"Don't worry" Rey reassured him "I won't report you, but I need some insurance all the same. I need your help, but if you lie to me or attempt to misdirect me, I'll have no choice but to report you. Understood?"

The smile returned to Altair's face.

"I can lend you a land speeder" He said "There's a space port about ten minutes from here, If your husband and son escaped, they would most likely have gone there. No point in going on your ship"

Rey bowed her head

"Thank you"

Rey and Sayer turned to leave but Altair spoke again

"One more thing"

They both turned

"About a month ago, two ships crash landed here in the desert, close to where your husband's ship was found"

He breathed in deeply before continuing angrily

"My scavengers were engaged in a firefight with those people for days. We don't take kindly to people trespassing on our scavenging grounds"

"Who were they?"

"I don't know, I never saw them before. My scavengers said they had their heads covered and wore purple robes"

Rey blanched, _could it be? Could they have…?_

"Where are they now?"

"I don't know, they might still be on Jakku. There was something pretty sinister about them" Altair crinkled his nose as he spoke "maybe your husband went after them"

"He knows better than to go after people like them without any backup"

Altair stood up from behind his fancy desk

"You know, I don't give a damn about these people as long as they don't interfere with my business"

Rey smiled at him

"Oh, I think you'll have more things to worry about than your business if they've decided to stick around"

* * *

"He was talking about the Durjans wasn't he?" Sayer said, as they glided on their speeder past sand dunes and more sand dunes "But why would they come to Jakku?"

"I don't know"

Sayer had heard stories about the people who called themselves 'Durjans'. His mother was sure they were a tribe of dark side worshippers from a planet on the outer rim and recently, they had taken to terrorizing other smaller outer rim planets. There were rumours that they made human sacrifices as 'offerings' to the Force, a concept which puzzled Sayer and disgusted Rey.

"The Force is a life loving energy that binds us and lives within us all" She had said "Their supposed knowledge of the Force is so dangerously warped…"

Sayer stared out into the sandy horizon ahead of them and shivered as he contemplated the idea of human sacrifice.

"You never told us you were a scavenger once mom" he said

"I didn't think it was important" Rey answered

Sayer didn't bother his mother with anymore questions about scavenging and her childhood. He learned a long time ago not to ask about her early years as it had always been a touchy subject with her.

But the uncomfortable silence between them was soon broken as the outline of a collection of buildings broke through the empty desert ahead of them.

The so called space port was not as big as they had expected, but it was still bustling with activity as they parked the speeder and entered the crowd. The swarm of humans and other creatures mostly surrounded a space race betting center.

Rey took her sons hand, and guided the small boy though the crowd. She had felt something, a familiar presence, if she just walked down this way she would be able to sense it more clearly.

She knew that Ben and Zander would be looking for some form of transport after their ship crashed, so maybe they had gone into one of the junk shops…

She lost her train of thought as she spotted a tall, hooded, broad shouldered figure,striding through the crowd on the other side of the road. She found herself rooted to the spot as the rest of the throng bumped and shoved past her. As Sayer was thrown around in the confusion, her grip on his hand tightened and she watched the familiar gait of the individual as he too pushed past the crowd opposite them

Sayer strained his neck to see what his mother was staring at and his eyes widened in recognition, but unlike her, he didn't hesitate. Breaking free of his mother's hand and rushing forward, he shouted

"DAD!"

"Sayer, NO!" Rey cried, but too late, her son was already running through the crowd

"Dad, over here!"

The man turned, recognizing the voice over the din, his dark eyes scanning the moving crowd on the roadside opposite him.

Sayer broke through the wall of people waiting to cross the road, his excitement blinding him.

The man saw the boy and then saw what he was about to do. Silently, he held up a hand signalling him to stop.

But Sayer, taking it as a sign of recognition from his father, lunged forward onto the oncoming traffic of speeders.

The man acted quickly, his reflexes as good as they were eighteen years ago and the speeders came to a grinding halt, just as the boy passed them, an invisible force holding them back, their engines spluttering.

Sayer ran into his father's outstretched arms

"Dad!"

The man removed the cloth covering his nose and mouth

"Hey little man!" he said in a rumbling voice, burying his face in his son's shoulder. When he looked up, his eyes fell on the woman standing across the road from them, her face livid.

"Uh oh" he muttered "I think we're in trouble son…"

Ignoring the confusion on the road, Rey crossed over to where father and son stood embracing.

"Sayer, when we get home, you're grounded!"

Ben released his son from his embrace and walked forward towards her, she took a step back, her arms folded, eyebrows raised.

Ben halted, recognizing the look on his wife's face, he turned back to his son

"Yes son" Ben began in a serious tone "You should have listened to your mother. You shouldn't have run across the road like that without looking, you could've gotten hurt!"

Sayer looked between his parents.

"Where's Zander?" Rey asked

"It's alright Rey, he's safe" Ben replied.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed

"What are _you_ doing here?" he queried

"I dragged my son from his bed and brought him out here because I thought his father and brother might be in trouble!" Rey tone was accusatory "didn't you send your mother a transmission?"

Ben rolled his eyes "Yes I did, and it was just to tell you that we were on Jakku"

"Oh, and you just happened to forget to mention that your ship had actually crashed"

"Zander was piloting" Ben said, guiltily

"Mom, dad, I think we should leave…" Sayer suggested tentatively

"Yeah, good idea" his father agreed, remembering that he was undercover. He looked around, hoping that no one had seen what he did to the land speeders

The drivers had now gotten out to investigate what had simultaneously caused damage to all of their speeders, while behind them, vehicles were honking and other drivers were yelling curses. People crossing the road also gave the drivers looks of disapproval.

As Rey, Ben and Sayer strolled away from the road, a figure appeared from around the dilapidated building behind them, a figure swathed in dark purple robes, who had watched as Ben used the force to disable to speeders and then as he was joined by two others.

The figure brought a communicator up to its face.

 _"They're here, they know…"_

* * *

Sayer saw his brother exit a junk shop opposite them and his heart nearly burst with envy. He was now taller than their mother, handsome with long, wavy black hair which shone in the Jakku sunlight and a swagger in his step that Sayer would have given an arm and a leg to have.

Unlike his brother, Sayer was small with shorter brown hair, a freckled face and he was the only child in the family who had inherited his father's ears.

He would often voice his concerns to his mother

"Mom, what if I never grow up? What if I stay the same height forever?"

"Oh don't be silly Sayer, you're only eleven years old of course you'll grow" his mother's words did nothing to comfort him

"So I will I be like Zander?"

"We're all different honey, not everyone grows up the same way"

But Sayer wanted to be just like his older brother. He was absolutely certain that when he turned fifteen, he would try to be just like him.

Zander crossed the road, running a long fingered hand through his thick hair

"Mom!" He called.

Sayer sniffed. Even his voice was deeper

Rey stepped forward and enveloped her oldest son, her first baby in a tight hug.

"Oh my, you've grown so much!" She cried "You look just like your father!"

Sayer gritted his teeth

"Yeah, I was just in the shop asking if they'd trade for a ship" Zander said, ruffling Sayer's hair "Hey squirt"

"Get off me!"

"You look exactly the same as I last saw you!" Zander joked

"Oh, what's that Zander?" Sayer mockingly pointed to his brother's face "Is that a zit on your nose?"

"Oh you wish you little..."

"Boys…" Their father's voice was stern

Rey's face suddenly became more serious

"Ben, the Durjans are here…"

"I know" he said "that's why we came here. If they're moving out of the outer rim territories, that can't be good…"

"What do you think they're doing on Jakku?" Rey asked

"Up to no good, no doubt" he replied

"You should have told me you were coming here, it's pretty stupid of you to think you can face them alone and Zander's not even properly trained yet!"

Ben smiled grimly

"Oh, I wasn't planning on facing them. They're planning something big Rey, I know it. I've been tracking them for a while now, undercover"

Rey sighed

"Well, I have a feeling your cover's blown" She said affectionately, placing a hand on Sayer's shoulder

Zander looked from his mother to his brother, mouth open

"Oh great! Wherever you go you manage to ruin everything, can't you do anything right?!" he sneered at his younger brother

"Shut up fish face!"

"Make me big ears!"

"ENOUGH!"

Several passerbies stopped to stare at the group, alarmed at the sound of the booming voice.

The boys' father rarely lost his temper, unlike his younger years he had now learned to control it most of the time. Even Rey looked at him, clearly shaken.

"That's enough from both of you!" he hissed "We need to alert the new Republic if the Durjans continue to violate any more intergalactic laws. We should leave right now, no point in staying here"

Rey nodded her head, but concern was bubbling in her chest as she thought she saw the shadow of Kylo Ren behind his darkened eyes.

* * *

On the way back to Altair's lair the boys remained quiet, their heads hanging low, but Rey was glad they were silent. She hated it when her children bickered, even when they were just being playful. She had spent all of her childhood dreaming of a family and suffering in loneliness and the thought of her children preferring to be away from each other or not being able to stand each other was painful to her not only as a mother, but also as someone who knew what it was like to have nobody to love.

Ben was silent too and she could tell he was regretting his outburst.

Rey returned the speeder to a scavenger who was polishing some metal in a tent, and followed her husband and sons into the Falcon.

Ben seated himself in the pilot seat and Rey gratefully took the co-pilot seating, feeling mentally drained.

"Boy's" Ben called "Go and check the navigation equipment"

They complied silently

After they had gone, he turned to Rey

"Rey I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that…"

"Ben, you don't have to apologize for trying to discipline the children" she responded, flicking some switches "they get on my nerves sometimes too"

Ben smiled as he remembered that they both had tempers to match each other. He leaned over and pulled her in for a kiss.

Rey was caught off guard for a second, but the feel of his lips on hers after such a long time compelled her to respond in earnest. Burying her hands in his hair, she turned her face as her tongue flitted through his parted lips to caress his mouth.

When they pulled apart for air Ben was beaming

"Well, I couldn't give you a proper hello before…"

She beamed back

"I think we should leave now…"

"And where to Captain?" Ben asked as the Millenium Falcon roared to life

Rey reached for the overhead controls

"Setting course for D'Qar" She announced "I promised a certain lady I would bring her grandchildren back to her"


End file.
